Redistricting is the act of drawing new political boundaries. In Montana, the five-member Districting and Apportionment Commission has authority under the Montana Constitution to draw the boundaries of congressional and legislative districts every 10 years. Using population data from the most recent U.S. Census, the commission will draw districts with approximately the same number of people in them. The process must be completed by early 2013. Because Montana has only one congressional district, the commission will focus on redrawing state legislative district lines.
In early 2010, the commission adopted districting criteria to use when creating and judging maps; the commission's operating procedures provide more detail about how it will complete the redistricting task.
